OUTLINESmashing the Glass GuitarMedia portrayal versus presentation of self:Frontwomen of rock bands in the United States
I. Thesis Statement
i. This paper will focus on women rock musicians in the United States in the past thirty years and will ask, to what degree are women rockers portrayed differently in the media than they present themselves? (In terms of their musical style, lyrics, and appearance.)
ii. The follow-up and perhaps more important question is, what are the implications of this accurate or inaccurate portrayal? Does it have a bearing on women’s opportunities in the music industry? What does it mean for young women today who want to become musicians? This will require lots of analysis and will be addressed towards the end of the paper, after the data has been presented.
iii. I’m going to do case studies of six famous women musicians from the past 30 years (and weave in stories from local musicians.) They will be mostly frontwomen and songwriters in bands · 1980s: Chrissie Hynde (Pretenders) and Joan Jett (Joan Jett & the Blackhearts) · 1990s: Courtney Love (Hole), someone from the Riot Grrrl scene: Kathleen Hanna (Bikini Kill) or Carrie Brownstein (Sleater-Kinney), I might also mention the Spice Girls because they pop up in every source. (Not as a rock band, but as a girl group with a ton of star power and cultural influence; sometimes as an example of “girl power” and sometimes as an ideal counterexample of girl power.) · 2000s: P!nk, and someone else.
II. Musical Style
i. In this section I will focus on the sound of the music. Looking at descriptions of the genre, instrumentation, vocal style, and overall sound of the music, what are the similarities/differences between what the artists say and what rock critics and journalists (the media) say?
ii. My own analysis: how do the similarities/differences lead to an accurate/inaccurate portrayal of these artists’ musical styles?
III. Lyrics
i. This section will address the same question as in the preceding section, but with a focus on the lyrics of songs that were written by these women. What do the artists say they are about, and what do the media say they are about? Which lines or subjects are stressed? (Also, what do I think these lyrics are saying?)
ii. My analysis: how do the similarities/differences lead to an accurate/inaccurate portrayal of the meanings and messages of these artists’ songs? · If I find that differences lead to a generally inaccurate media portrayal, how so? And what are the messages morphed into, what do they become?
iii. Here, I may also address contradictions and mixed messages sent by the artists, because there is bound to be some inconsistency in terms of how they present themselves through their writings.
IV. Appearance
i. Same question again about similarities/differences, but in this section, about the look of the artist. (What they say about it versus what the media say about it.) · Her gender expression (feminine/masculine/androgynous), sexuality, how she chooses to dress for the world. · This is a main section in the paper because, even in my preliminary research, appearance is emphasized in articles about the artists, and is sometimes focused on even more than the music.
ii. My analysis: how do the similarities/differences lead to an accurate/inaccurate portrayal of the appearance of the artists? (Also how do I interpret their appearance – what messages, if any, do I see in certain aspects of it?)
iii. Address changes in the artists’ appearance overtime, and as their careers developed.
V. Implications i. This section asks the simple yet difficult question: SO WHAT? · What do my findings mean? Why do they matter for women rock musicians, for myself, and for society? · This section could go in two wildly different directions, or could end up somewhere in between. Here are the extremes: o If the media portrayal of the artists is generally accurate, that is, consistent with the artists’ self-portrayals, then the implications will likely be positive, for these musicians and women in general – for people in general. The question will be: how can we continue these trends? o If the media portrayals are inaccurate, then the implications will likely be negative. Then the question might be: what can we do as individuals and as a society to shape our world so that women rock musicians and women in general can be portrayed by the media more accurately, more consistent with how women see themselves?
I. Thesis Statement
i. This paper will focus on women rock musicians in the United States in the past thirty years and will ask, to what degree are women rockers portrayed differently in the media than they present themselves? (In terms of their musical style, lyrics, and appearance.)
ii. The follow-up and perhaps more important question is, what are the implications of this accurate or inaccurate portrayal? Does it have a bearing on women’s opportunities in the music industry? What does it mean for young women today who want to become musicians? This will require lots of analysis and will be addressed towards the end of the paper, after the data has been presented.
iii. I’m going to do case studies of six famous women musicians from the past 30 years (and weave in stories from local musicians.) They will be mostly frontwomen and songwriters in bands
· 1980s: Chrissie Hynde (Pretenders) and Joan Jett (Joan Jett & the Blackhearts)
· 1990s: Courtney Love (Hole), someone from the Riot Grrrl scene: Kathleen Hanna (Bikini Kill) or Carrie Brownstein (Sleater-Kinney), I might also mention the Spice Girls because they pop up in every source. (Not as a rock band, but as a girl group with a ton of star power and cultural influence; sometimes as an example of “girl power” and sometimes as an ideal counterexample of girl power.)
· 2000s: P!nk, and someone else.
II. Musical Style
i. In this section I will focus on the sound of the music.
Looking at descriptions of the genre, instrumentation, vocal style, and overall sound of the music, what are the similarities/differences between what the artists say and what rock critics and journalists (the media) say?
ii. My own analysis: how do the similarities/differences lead to an accurate/inaccurate portrayal of these artists’ musical styles?
III. Lyrics
i. This section will address the same question as in the preceding section, but with a focus on the lyrics of songs that were written by these women. What do the artists say they are about, and what do the media say they are about? Which lines or subjects are stressed? (Also, what do I think these lyrics are saying?)
ii. My analysis: how do the similarities/differences lead to an accurate/inaccurate portrayal of the meanings and messages of these artists’ songs?
· If I find that differences lead to a generally inaccurate media portrayal, how so? And what are the messages morphed into, what do they become?
iii. Here, I may also address contradictions and mixed messages sent by the artists, because there is bound to be some inconsistency in terms of how they present themselves through their writings.
IV. Appearance
i. Same question again about similarities/differences, but in this section, about the look of the artist. (What they say about it versus what the media say about it.)
· Her gender expression (feminine/masculine/androgynous), sexuality, how she chooses to dress for the world.
· This is a main section in the paper because, even in my preliminary research, appearance is emphasized in articles about the artists, and is sometimes focused on even more than the music.
ii. My analysis: how do the similarities/differences lead to an accurate/inaccurate portrayal of the appearance of the artists? (Also how do I interpret their appearance – what messages, if any, do I see in certain aspects of it?)
iii. Address changes in the artists’ appearance overtime, and as their careers developed.
V. Implications
i. This section asks the simple yet difficult question: SO WHAT?
· What do my findings mean? Why do they matter for women rock musicians, for myself, and for society?
· This section could go in two wildly different directions, or could end up somewhere in between. Here are the extremes:
o If the media portrayal of the artists is generally accurate, that is, consistent with the artists’ self-portrayals, then the implications will likely be positive, for these musicians and women in general – for people in general. The question will be: how can we continue these trends?
o If the media portrayals are inaccurate, then the implications will likely be negative. Then the question might be: what can we do as individuals and as a society to shape our world so that women rock musicians and women in general can be portrayed by the media more accurately, more consistent with how women see themselves?